This article follows, chronologically, the legal acts that have organised gambling in Romania, as they appear on the Legislative Portal of the Ministry of Justice and on the website of the National Office for Gambling (Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc, ONJN). It reports what the acts and the official sources say, without interpreting them. Quotations are translated from Romanian. The consolidated versions of the acts can be consulted on the Legislative Portal.
Before 2009
Before 2009, Government Emergency Ordinance no. 69/1998 on the authorisation regime for activities in the field of gambling was in force. On its basis, the Government adopted Decision no. 251 of 1 April 1999 on the conditions for authorising, organising and operating gambling, published in the Official Gazette (Monitorul Oficial) no. 171 of 22 April 1999.
2009: Emergency Ordinance 77/2009
The organisation and operation of gambling are governed by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 77 of 24 June 2009 on the organisation and operation of gambling, published in the Official Gazette no. 439 of 26 June 2009. According to the ONJN website, the ordinance was approved with amendments and additions by Law no. 246/2010.
Article 1(1) states that "the organisation and operation of gambling activity on the territory of Romania constitutes a state monopoly". In the version updated to 24 December 2010, Article 3(1) defines gambling through a set of cumulative conditions, including the award of material winnings, "as a rule in money", the collection of a "direct or disguised participation fee" and the award of winnings "through the random selection of the results of the events that are the object of the game".
In the same version, Article 1(3) provided that the authorisation of the organisation and operation of gambling "is carried out by the Ministry of Public Finance through the Gambling Authorisation Commission". Article 32 repealed, among other acts, Emergency Ordinance 69/1998.
2013: the creation of ONJN
The National Office for Gambling was established by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 20 of 27 March 2013, published in the Official Gazette no. 187 of 3 April 2013. According to the ONJN website, the ordinance was approved by Law no. 227/2013, and the Office operates in accordance with Government Decision no. 298/2013, as amended and supplemented by Government Decision no. 644/2013.
The preamble of the ordinance invokes, among other things, the need for "improving and adapting gambling regulations to economic and social realities" and for ensuring the prevention of gambling addiction and the protection of minors. Article 1(1) provides: "The National Office for Gambling, hereinafter the Office, is established as a specialised body of the central public administration, with legal personality, subordinated to the Government of Romania." The Office is headed by a president with the rank of secretary of state.
In the consolidated version of the ordinance, Article 2(1) states that the Office "grants the right of organisation and operation, monitors, supervises and controls activities in the field of gambling". Article 7(1) sets up within the Office a supervisory committee, a "deliberative and decision-making structure".
In 2015, Government Emergency Ordinance no. 42 of 7 October 2015 (Official Gazette no. 767 of 14 October 2015) inserted a new paragraph, (1¹), into Article 1 of Emergency Ordinance 77/2009, under which the state monopoly is administered by the National Office for Gambling.
2014–2016: remote gambling
Government Emergency Ordinance no. 92 of 29 December 2014 on fiscal and budgetary measures and the amendment of certain legal acts was published in the Official Gazette no. 957 of 30 December 2014. Its preamble refers to the letter of formal notice of the European Commission in infringement case no. 2013/4216, which drew attention to provisions of Emergency Ordinance 77/2009 that appeared to raise problems of compatibility with the freedom to provide services.
Through Article I point 3, the ordinance inserted Articles 1¹ to 1³ into Emergency Ordinance 77/2009. Under Article 1³, remote or online gambling means "all games of chance, whether or not provided for in this emergency ordinance, which meet the conditions laid down in Article 3 and which are carried out only by means of any communication system (internet, fixed or mobile telephone systems and any other transmission systems)". In the version established by the same ordinance, Article 12(1) provides that the licence to organise gambling is valid for 10 years from the date it is granted.
Emergency Ordinance 92/2014 was approved by Law no. 124 of 29 May 2015, published in the Official Gazette no. 407 of 9 June 2015. New methodological norms for applying Emergency Ordinance 77/2009 followed, approved by Government Decision no. 111 of 24 February 2016 (Official Gazette no. 151 of 26 February 2016); Article 2 of that decision repealed the earlier norms, approved by Government Decision no. 870/2009.
According to the ONJN website, a general directorate of the Office handles the technical control, monitoring and supervision of online gambling. On the same page ONJN publishes a "blacklist" and the decisions on adding gambling websites to it.
2023–2025: recent amendments and self-exclusion
Government Emergency Ordinance no. 82 of 5 October 2023, published in the Official Gazette no. 905 of 6 October 2023, amended and supplemented Emergency Ordinance 77/2009 and amended Emergency Ordinance 20/2013. It was approved by Law no. 107 of 17 April 2024, published in the Official Gazette no. 370 of 18 April 2024.
Point 21 of that ordinance gave a new wording to Article 15¹ of Emergency Ordinance 77/2009. Paragraph (1) provides that gambling organisers "are obliged not to allow access to the premises of locations where gambling activities take place to self-excluded and undesirable persons who are included in the database of self-excluded and undesirable persons, created, managed and permanently updated by O.N.J.N.", a database to which organisers have real-time access.
ONJN Order no. 79 of 13 June 2025 (Official Gazette no. 557 of 17 June 2025) approves the procedure for submitting and processing self-exclusion requests and organisers' access to the database, "in accordance with the provisions of Article 15¹" of Emergency Ordinance 77/2009.
On its frequently asked questions page, ONJN describes self-exclusion as "a voluntary measure by which a person requests that their own access to gambling be prohibited". According to the same page, it may be requested by any adult natural person, only in their own name, and the measure becomes enforceable against organisers at 00:00 on the day following registration in the ONJN database and applies until consent is withdrawn. For online gambling, ONJN states that Articles 132 and 140 of Government Decision 111/2016 provide for self-exclusion mechanisms at platform level. More on the support available is in the Responsible gambling section.
Sources
- Government of Romania, Decision no. 251/1999, Legislative Portal.
- Government of Romania, Emergency Ordinance 77/2009, version updated to 24 December 2010 and consolidated version, Legislative Portal.
- Government of Romania, Emergency Ordinance 20/2013, Legislative Portal.
- ONJN, About ONJN and Legislation in the field of gambling (in Romanian).
- Government of Romania, Emergency Ordinance 92/2014, Legislative Portal.
- Parliament of Romania, Law no. 124/2015, Legislative Portal.
- Government of Romania, Decision no. 111/2016, Legislative Portal.
- ONJN, Monitoring (in Romanian).
- Government of Romania, Emergency Ordinance 82/2023, Legislative Portal.
- Parliament of Romania, Law no. 107/2024, Legislative Portal.
- ONJN, Order no. 79/2025, Legislative Portal.
- ONJN, Frequently asked questions (in Romanian).